HORIZON-EUROPE MSCA-COFUND-2022

EU Marie Sklodowska-Curie Program (MSCA) COFUND trainLSE project

The program “Interdisciplinary and intersectoral doctoral training programme at Technische Universität Darmstadt in Life Science Engineering” – trainLSE – aims to establish interdisciplinary research and training of excellent international young researchers at the interface between engineering and life sciences. trainLSE is integrated into the existing PhD program of the Graduate School Life Science Engineering (GS LSE) at TU Darmstadt. PhD candidates are members of the LSE community and benefit from the structured doctoral training.

The MSCA-COFUND doctoral program not only provides research training in the fields of biology, chemistry, materials science, electrical engineering, physics, and mechanical engineering, but also prepares you for your future career in academia and industry and offers the opportunity of research internships in renowned partner research institutions, universities or companies in different countries.

In November 2023, we launched the first call for applications and successfully recruited nine excellent PhD candidates that joined the trainLSE programme in 2024.

In September 2025, we launched a second call for applications to fill the remaining positions in our programme.

After an intensive selection process, we are happy to welcome six new doctoral candidates to our community, who started their exciting journey in Darmstadt in 2026.

Meet our PhD candidates within the EU MSCA-COFUND trainLSE project

Name Lab Department
Tarik Benali Self-Organizing Systems Prof. Koeppl – ETIT
Farah AlHaman Chromosome organisation & Centromere identity Prof. Heun – Biology
Gizem Cantörü Biohybrid Systems for Cellular Engineering Dr. Belluati – Chemistry
Ezgi Sentürk Integrated Micro- and Nanosystems Prof. Burg – ETIT
Lakshmy T Ajithan Integrated Micro- and Nanosystems Prof. Burg – ETIT
Livia Campos Biophotonics – Biomedical Engineering Prof. Frosch – ETIT
Salomé Luis BioMedical Printing Technology Prof. Blaeser – Mechanical Engineering
Esraa Elmorsy Nanostructures fabricated by ion-track technology Prof. Toimil-Molares – Material Science
Mohammadjavad Jazini Control and Cyber-Physical Systems Prof. Findeisen – ETIT
Giuseppe Legista Biophotonics – Biomedical Engineering Prof. Frosch – ETIT
Abir Boukaba Self-Organizing Systems Prof. Koeppl – ETIT
Aigerim Dyussupova Biophotonics – Biomedical Engineering Prof. Frosch – ETIT
Thomas Brown Self-Organizing Systems Prof. Koeppl – ETIT

The journey to Darmstadt

Our journey began in February 2024 when we met selected candidates for virtual interviews. The top candidates were then invited to Darmstadt for an on-site recruitment event, which included a joint dinner and a campus tour of our university.

In January 2025, the coordinator held a welcome session for the trainLSE Fellows. This included a comprehensive introduction to the trainLSE training programme, as well as an opportunity to get to know each other better and expand their professional networks.

Looking ahead, we have many exciting events and training sessions planned for 2025. Stay curious—we'll keep you updated.

 

 

 

Training and Career Development

Training sessions focusing on transferable and scientific skills, as well as career development, are an integral part of the MSCA-COFUND trainLSE PhD programme. Our MSCA fellows have the opportunity to further develop their scientific expertise and receive structured career development support to prepare for diverse career paths after the PhD.

As the MSCA programme is embedded within the LSE Graduate School, many training activities are integrated into the Graduate School’s PhD training framework, while ensuring that MSCA fellows benefit from the specific career development objectives and international dimension of the MSCA programme.

The LSE hosted an inspiring Nature Masterclass on Scientific Writing in Darmstadt, offering an exceptional opportunity for its members to sharpen their academic writing skills. This exclusive workshop, open to all LSE members including participants in the trainLSE program, was led by two experienced editors from Nature.

During the workshop, participants gained valuable insights into the (often challenging) peer-review process and learned key strategies for creating compelling research papers. The editors shared practical tips, behind-the-scenes perspectives, and concrete advice on how to make manuscripts stand out.

A networking dinner rounded off the event, providing the perfect setting for informal conversations where students could engage directly with the editors, ask questions and exchange ideas in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

This course, hosted by the Graduate School LSE, introduced trainLSE fellows and LSE members to the core principles of Good Scientific Practice (GSP) at an early stage. It covered standards for transparency, research integrity, and responsible conduct, providing the foundation for open and reproducible science.

We kicked off the year with an official welcome session for the first cohort of MSCA fellows in trainLSE. The session, led by the programme coordinator, provided an opportunity to connect, introduce the programme structure, and outline the training and career development framework.

Over the next four years, the fellows will progress through the MSCA programme together, engaging in interdisciplinary training and structured career development alongside colleagues from the Graduate School Life Science Engineering.

Our regular LSE Seminars provide a fantastic opportunity for students to engage with the community and organize exclusive excursions. Recently, a PhD student from the Graduate School arranged a guided visit to the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt. This included a tour of the FAIR international accelerator facility, one of the world's largest research projects. It was an incredible chance to explore cutting-edge accelerator technology and its role in advancing scientific discovery.

During the annual LSE retreat, MSCA fellows participated in the workshop “How to Prepare and Present Scientific Pitches.” Led by Bartosz Kjadas from Startup from Science, the session focused on developing concise, compelling pitches for start-up ideas and on communicating scientific concepts clearly to a broad audience within a limited timeframe.

As an associated partner for training and career development within the MSCA programme, Bartosz Kjadas provided valuable practical insights, and we were pleased to welcome him as a trainer.

During our annual retreat in the beautiful Kleinwalsertal, Austria, we had the great pleasure to get to know more about an inspiring company from Heidelberg called PAiCON.

Dr. John Wong was invited to join us and gave an introduction about the innovative work of PAiCON – a young start-up using AI-driven data analysis to support early and accurate cancer diagnostics.

The industry session are an important part of the trainLSE programme. They give our fellows an insight into research in industry and demonstrate possible career prospects after completing their PhD.

Once a year, INGENIUM at TU Darmstadt hosts a two-day onboarding event for all new PhD candidates. The programme aims to

  • connect with each other across disciplines
  • introduce important topics and actors for a PhD at TU Darmstadt
  • provide helpful impulses for a good start into the doctoral phase

The event offers structured guidance and practical input for starting the doctorate and is particularly valuable for international researchers seeking orientation in their new academic environment. We highly appreciate INGENIUM’s continued commitment to supporting our researchers through high-quality workshops, seminars, and training programmes.

Two days full of creativity and learning!

The doctoral researchers participated in a hands-on Inkscape workshop. Over the course of two days, they learned how to use this powerful, open-source tool to create scientific illustrations, posters, and creative visualizations.

This exclusive training helps our researchers to develop skills that extend beyond their projects and enable them to communicate their science in engaging ways.

A big thank you to Monika Gause for hosting the workshop, and to everyone who joined and made these sessions so inspiring!

Internal services from TU Darmstadt offered a seminar about Research Data Management for doctoral researchers. Participants were introduced to data types and formats, FAIR prinicples and how to implement an Data management Plan (DMP).

In September 2025, we launched a second call for applications to fill the remaining positions in our programme.

After an intensive selection process, we are happy to welcome six new doctoral candidates to our community, who will start their exciting journey in Darmstadt in the next few months.

We were delighted to welcome Dr. Christina Uth, who introduced us to Sulfotools, a company she founded with Dr. Sascha Knaur. Their work aims to revolutionize peptide synthesis by replacing organic solvents with water.

It was inspiring to learn about the career paths that can follow a PhD and to see how an idea developed in the lab can evolve into an innovative business.

Thank you for sharing your journey with us!

HIGHEST, the Innovation & Startup Center at TU Darmstadt introduced the hidden value of intellectual property (IP) in research. Innovation manager Jessica Retzlaff, and innovation scout Dr.-Ing. Christian Thyes provided valuable insights into how to protect your own IP and how TU Darmstadt supports scientist with IP related matters.

We thank HIGHEST for their inspiring talk and look forward to the new ideas and innovations that may soon emerge in our community.